gallows

1 of 2

noun

gal·​lows ˈga-(ˌ)lōz 

-ləz,

in sense 3 also

-ləs 

plural gallows also gallowses

1

a

or less commonly gallows tree plural gallows trees : a frame usually of two upright posts and a transverse beam from which a noose is suspended and that is used for executions by hanging

… I'll be lucky if they don't whip me to the bone. More likely I'll be hung from the gallows.

—Sid Fleischman

b

: the punishment of execution by hanging

2

: a structure consisting of an upright frame with a crosspiece

… it's all hands on deck when the captain decides to raise or lower the sail. This is a demanding and dangerous maneuver as the yard and furled sail normally rest on gallows in line with the ship …

—Rich Harbert

3

dated : suspender sense 2a

gallows

2 of 2

adjective

: deserving the gallows see also gallows bird, gallows humor

Examples of gallows in a Sentence

Noun

He was sentenced to death on the gallows.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The appearance on January 6 of a gallows with a noose hanging from it outside the Capitol visually reinforced the allusion to that defining moment in the novel. —James Shapiro, The Atlantic, 18 July 2025

He was hanged in 1947 at a gallows placed between his former home and a Nazi crematory. —Andrew Higgins, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2025

Adjective

Thankfully, Preston suffuses the piece with a gallows humor that proves absolutely crucial. —Longreads, 12 Apr. 2024

There is a gallows humor in their songs about addiction and inertia, with a strong anti-capitalist streak to boot. —David Renshaw, WIRED, 26 Dec. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English galwes, galwes, plural of galwe, going back to Old English galga, gealga, going back to Germanic *galgōn "pole, stake, pole on which a condemned person was hung" (whence Old Saxon galgo "gallows, stake," Old High German galga, galgo, Old Norse galgi, Gothic galga "stake, cross"), going back to dialectal Indo-European *ǵholgh-, whence also Lithuanian žalgà "thin stake" and perhaps Armenian jałk

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing gallows

• gallows bird
• gallows humor
• send to the gallows

Rhymes for gallows

• hallows
• mallows
• shallows

Kids Definition

gallows

noun

gal·​lows

ˈgal-(ˌ)ōz,

-əz

plural gallows or gallowses

1

: a structure from which criminals are hanged

2

: the punishment of hanging

was sentenced to the gallows